Anglinarcher

Never quite figured that out. I have ordered stuff from Canada and the price seldom changes much, but when they order it from us it goes through the roof. We were suppose to have that NAFTA, North American Free Trade Agreement, but apparently it is only free going one way?????? I am a hobbyist, at least in fishing stuff, but when I was selling Archery Stuff, I stopped selling North of the Border. I once went to an Archery Shoot in Canada and the Canadian Border Stuff would only let me take a Dozen Arrows into the country in fear I might sell my extras to the locals at a reduced price. Strange world, very strange indeed.

I lot of the difference in prices are due to what the material is made of, which determines how bright it will glow and long it will last. For years the glow powder was a zinc sulfide material, smells terrible, and often glows for only a few minutes to perhaps an hour. Had some, loved it, but if I was fishing at night I was always recharging it. That is the cheaper stuff. If you are fishing during the day in deep or dirty water, this is not a bid deal because you are often reeling it in, it is naturally recharging, and casting it out again. The new material is much more expensive Strontium Aluminate which glows brighter, glows much longer (some over 12 hours), and does not have that sulfur smell. Have some and I can use it on ice fishing jigs, at night, for frolling, and not worry about bringing it up to charge. Yes, there is a price difference, and if they don't tell you which material it is you are probably getting the older and less expensive material. I am not going to say one is better then the other, but the difference is huge.

I see that I am going to have a bunch of gloves with one finger removed soon. Thanks!

Yep, for now, Plastisol is best for that.

I don't use wood much anymore, but, when I do (sounds like a beer commercial doesn't it LOL), I seal the wood after the hardware, ballast, etc., is attached. I also use a Forstner bit to drill. I seem to have much less trouble with it splitting wood, and I get a flatter bottom to my hole.

This calls for a picture, before and after. LOL It sounds like the lamination plate needs to tweaking. Is it always the same ones that don't fill?

No, probably not, they are all pourable but take some time to cure. Do you have a specific size and shape or color requirements. For example, https://www.makelure.com/store/p/943-Flex-30.aspx Tough, but you either need to warm the mold or it needs to have some thickness. Also, it is an amber color so tinting will take a little work to tint around. I would think curly tails are out, but maybe paddle tails. I have had some luck with this, but it took some learning. Another option, and it will cure even if thin, is this one: https://www.alumilite.com/store/p/1081-TRANS-40-Translucent-Silicone.aspx Very tough, still has some flex, some milky color but translucent. You are not making curly tails out of this. LOL The solfest silicone is the following:https://www.alumilite.com/store/p/921-Alumilite-s-High-Strength-3.aspx Very tough, flexible, but again, no curly tails. Also, this one has a pink tint without adding color, but I have had discussions with the maker and if the amount you ordered was large enough they could make the catalyst, which adds the pink, without the tint which is used to help you make sure it is mixed. All of these take time to mix, but I have used the first and last in test lures. I made a leach pattern out of the Flex and I do real copy tails and fins form the HS3. But, I am a Hobby lure maker, I can take the few to several hours for it to cure.

Well, it is one of those answers that comes out sounding like I am dodging the question. It depends. They still sell "eye busters" for popping paint out of jig eyes, but it won't touch the powder paint I use on my jigs. If I don't get them clean before I bake them, I have to drill them out. So, that says something. Some commercial jigs still use acrylic paints or vinyl paints because they are so easy to spray apply. They usually apply a clear coat, but these jigs are what the "eye buster" pliers are designed for. Some commercial jig makers are using powder paint for their jigs, and a lot of them are some the people on this site. These jigs are every bit as strong as our "homemade finishes", because they use the same methods and techniques as the hobbyist. I suppose in this case it is a question of which came first, the chicken or the egg...........did they do it first and the hobbyist copied it, or was it the other way around? I see more and more commercial jigs, the retail jigs, becoming as strong as anything we do, but there are still a lot of the less expensive lesser quality finishes out there. Like I said, it depends.

Nailed that on the head.

Posting mostly to bump you back to the top. I remember the name, but not even sure it is the right spelling. For the life of me I cannot remember what it looked like, but I believe it was a bass lure, or at least it was made in a bass lure size. I only say that because I THINK Dad had one and he never fished for Muskie in his life.

And, believe it not, if you search TU you will find that using glass bead blasting medium is gaining a great following. It keeps more strength in the worm, sinks as well, and it makes the worm more translucent/clear.

Ya, it is easy to do. You can do an internet search about additive color wheel and subtractive color wheel, but but by then you will be a bit confused. In short, you can muddy it up really fast. I suggest that you have some good workable solutions above. I would start with one color that you think looks close enough to what you want, and then add tiny amounts of other colors, or a colored glitter, if, and only if, you need to. As for the color, I went to the store today and looked. I found at least 7 different shades of Honey at WalMart alone. Clover honey, wildflower honey, this brand, that brand, all different. Not a huge amount of difference between the honey, but enough that any of the suggestions above, from straight amber to ...... would match one of them. Just don't add any blue that would mix with yellow to make green, and don't add green. LOL

ROFLOL You set yourself up on that one, but I am not going to bite. I am sure that I have a padded room reserved for me and it is a private room. Yes, some. The denatured alcohol is an epoxy thinner, so it will allow a thinner coat, but too thin and fish eyes develop (surface tension of the material pulls the material away from a spot, leaving no epoxy and a round void that looks somewhat like a fish eye). It retards drying time some, but not a huge amount IMHO. Still, never tried the glove thing. I await the results.

That is a good idea for sure, but doing one thing at a time might be a good idea. https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Vacuum-Degassing-Chamber-Pump/dp/B0713SJ1GV I use a different one, with a better/faster pump, but this will give you a good idea. Yes, the worm oil might help. Warming the mold might also help. BUT, it looks like there is some delamination of the lure??? I doubt that this is the cause, but, maybe, are you pouring the plastic after it has cooled too much? I only say this because cool plastisol will maybe delaminate and capture air more. Degassing silicone is the most expensive way, but I got my degassing setup for about $125 US. With the lure design we see, yes, degassing would have helped a lot, but, to be honest, the bubble shapes do not look like the air pockets I get when I fail to degass my lures. On the other hand, I don't pour lures that big, so I could be way wrong. He said early on that he made one mold and he bought one mold and both are doing the same thing. That is what is leading me away from the gas bubbles in the silicone mold. I am going to try and attach a link to a short, and bad, video of degassing silicone. https://drive.google.com/open?id=18dvPrp7jEj9-cO7Z2Iqf9K3KNEOVjae8 Good luck on your search. An after thought, or a slow memory. 30 years ago I had problems with a mold I got from Netcraft. I tried everything (where was the internet and TU when I needed them? LOL). One day I decided maybe I should clean the mold so I used a wet rag and alcohol. I should have let it dry, but I did not, so I poured into the damp mold. The air movement problems disappeared. When I poured the next time, the air problem was back. Now I know that alcohol reduces surface tension and that probably allowed the plastic to flow and push the air out better. I never tried it again, ever, but......... you can always give it a try.

Never thought of that, great idea and results. Better at it then I am. I will need to try using a thinner mix. Thanks Mark. This is the source I used for the different sized particles. www.glonation.com/glow-in-the-dark-products/neutral-glow-powders.html You can get it from 15 micron sized particles to 45 micron sized particles (25 or 35 in green or blue). Do you know what you are using Mark? Actually you can go up to 75 microns if you use it in epoxies or plastics, so ....... The method used to determine what an eye can see is to take samples of the cones from the eye, expose it to a specific light wave, then check for chemical changes. If the chemical changes happen, it is assumed that the fish can see the light, no chemical change, they assume the subject does not see the specific light wave. As you can guess, it leaves some room for discussion but, the method seems sound. The real problem comes in determining how much of a change needs for the subject to "see" the color. For example, a receptor for one color reacts most to that color, but it still has weak reactions to the colors on both sides of it. It has been "determined" that Walleye can see Green and Red, but not infrared or Blue. But, the number of Walleye I have caught using yellow, blue, and black leave me believing that the explanation is far more complex than that. The same test have determined that Trout, specifically rainbow trout, and Salmon can see red through blue, even the near UV spectrum, but not very far into the UV. Still, with the latest fad using UV topcoats, etc., you have to wonder. As a side note, the test say carp and most of the "minnows" can see Infrared. I think that Chuck may have summed that one up best: This has been an interesting thread. First, I find I am not the only one to airbrush glow paints. I still think that it is not easy, but if I can do it than anyone can learn. Second, there are more ways of doing it then I once thought. Great work guys.

This is what I have used in the past. Mix the paint well and I find I spray in thin coats, checking between each coat for the desired results. https://www.mckenziesp.com/Iridescent-Colors-C2627.aspx It is not nearly as dramatic as what Matt uses, but it gives a hint of the color in the proper light. I find the green and blue to be thin, even just a hint, but it does give some interesting results that might be interpreted as:

Kind of figured that might be the case. Yep, not fun at all. Totally agree. I used the 15 micron version, but as mentioned above, the larger particles will glow longer and stronger. Like I said before: In retrospect, I just don't suggest airbrushing glow paints.

I hate when a thread does not get the response, and respect, it deserves. Hopefully this will break the ice. The soft plastic beads you show being made are AWESOME. If I still lived in Washington State, I would be all over this. As for the question, yes, I did some, with a mold I made from RTV Silicone, but it was several years ago. NEVER did I have the color options you show. Excellent, truly excellent.

I wanted to bump you back to the top to get a response. First, I see you are new, so welcome to the site if we have not said so already. Love to have new people, new ideas, new growth. Now, if you hover your mouse of ACTIVITY at the top right of this screen, then follow the drop down menu to Search, you can click on search and enter the words you want to search. I am pretty sure jig skins have been discussed before, and if I remember correctly they were said to work well, just a bit expensive. When I entered this, I came up with the following: http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/search/?&q=jig skins Good luck, and maybe now you will get some great responses..... kinda like breaking the ice.

Funny how much healthier I and my wife became after we were empty nesters. ROFLOL I hope you feel well soon.

Remember that Epoxy is considered a solvent for epoxy, it thins and removes it. 100%, not the thinned down versions using water. The other solvents will all work, but they work by breaking down the chemical bonds of the epoxy to remove it, while epoxy separates the molecules into free floating particles in solution. I am not sure that this will help you figure things out, but maybe. I am not saying one way is better then the other, but like was mentioned above, I use cheep flux brushes I got at Harbor Freight, use a little supper glue at the base of the bristles to hold them in the metal base, then toss it when I am done. If I get a bad batch, I squeeze the metal base first with a pair of pliers to clamp the bristles better. I do a package of several I get at once and that way I don't need to worry about it when I use the epoxy and lure turner. I seldom get any debris or hairs when I do it this way, but I have migrated to other clear coat methods for most of my lures. I hope you get it figured out. Even if you do everything perfectly, if the environment you are in is dusty or has debris in the air, you will get the stuff on your epoxy lure as it cures. That is one of the problems with slow cure epoxies, it is a dust trap for several hours before it is tack free.

Got lots of those. Just remember that when I did my test, the smoother the skin the better, and it wanted to float really high so it will be a real bear trying to keep it in place. Good luck, and let us know how/if it works for you.

And I respect your position on the matter.

X3 ROFLOL